SIUE Cougars (9-17, 3-10 OVC) vs. Tennessee State Tigers (10-16, 5-9 OVC)

Thursday, February 17, 7:30 p.m.
Gentry Center (9,100)
Nashville, Tennessee

LAST TIME
DeeJuan Pruitt's double-double helped SIUE withstand a second-half surge from Tennessee Tech Saturday. The Cougars outlasted the Golden Eagles 61-60 to win their second consecutive game. Pruitt tied his career high with 17 points while hauling in a game-high 12 rebounds. Pruitt's two-hand slam with 15 seconds to play proved to be the game-winning basket. Trailing 60-59, the Cougars called a timeout. Pruitt set up a high screen before rolling left to the hoop, where he caught a pass from Desmond Polk for the open dunk.

CONFERENCE CALL
SIUE is playing its 11th Ohio Valley Conference season. The Cougars are 55-126 in OVC play. Head Coach Brian Barone has a 14-35 record in OVC play. 

LAST MEETING
SIUE fell to Tennessee State 75-70 Jan. 27 at First Community Arena. SIUE struggled to execute in the second half, hitting just 7-27 attempts (26 percent) after a lights-out first half saw the team shoot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field. Tennessee State also was 15-27 from the field in the first half and trailed SIUE 39-38. The Tigers built their lead to 65-55 with 6:25 to go. The Cougars made a push and scored 12 of the next 13 points. A pair of free throws from Pruitt cut the TSU lead to 68-67 with 1:50 left. Pruitt got SIUE to 70-69 with 58 seconds left with two more free throws, but the Cougars never got any closer. Both times the Cougars missed shots that would have tied or given SIUE the lead.

TAYLOR TO MISS REMAINDER OF SEASON
Freshman guard Ray'Sean Taylor will miss the remainder of the 2022 season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Taylor sustained the injury in the second half of SIUE's game at Southeast Missouri on January 29, undergoing immediate testing and a subsequent MRI which revealed the ligament tear. Taylor sat out the 2020-21 season with the same injury, which he sustained in August 2020. Taylor led SIUE in scoring 14 times, scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games, and scored 20 or more points in a game nine times. He remains the leading scorer among first-year players in the country at 17.6 points per game. Taylor won the OVC Freshman of the Week award five times this season. 

HOME SWEET HOME
SIUE will play three of its remaining five games at First Community Arena. 

DP AWARDED
DeeJuan Pruitt earned his second selection as OVC Newcomer of the Week Monday. Pruitt averaged 12.0 points and 7.7 rebounds and 1.67 blocks last week. He was key in helping SIUE stop a long losing streak and finish the week with two wins.